The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Alstroemeria plant, botanically known as Alstroemeria hybrida, commercially used as a cut flower Alstroemeria, and hereinafter referred to by the name ‘Zalsafro’.
The new Alstroemeria is a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the Inventor in Hillegom, The Netherlands. The objective of the breeding program is to create new cut flower Alstroemeria cultivars with desirable flower and plant qualities, attractive foliage and flower coloration and excellent postproduction longevity.
The new Alstroemeria originated from a cross-pollination made by the Inventor in Hillegom, The Netherlands in May, 2000, of a proprietary Alstroemeria hybrida selection identified as code number 96438-1, not patented, as the female, or seed, parent with a proprietary Alstroemeria hybrida selection identified as code number 96347-47APN, not patented, as the male, or pollen, parent. The cultivar Zalsafro was discovered and selected by the Inventor as a flowering plant from within the progeny of the stated cross-pollination in a controlled environment in Hillegom, The Netherlands in June, 2001.
Asexual reproduction of the new Alstroemeria by root divisions in a controlled environment in Hillegom, The Netherlands since September, 2001, has shown that the unique features of this new Alstroemeria are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations.